Minister Ponmudy, wife get three years in prison
Tamil Nadu Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy and his wife were sentenced to three years of imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 50 lakh each by the Madras High Court Thursday in a Rs 1.75-crore disproportionate asset case.
Justice G. Jayachandran further suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow Ponmudy, 73, to appeal in the Supreme Court.
In a related development, Tamil Nadu Governor R. N. Ravi approved Chief Minister M. K. Stalin’s recommendation to allot the portfolio of higher education to Backward Classes Welfare Minister R.S. Rajakannappan.
On Tuesday, the Madras High Court had set aside a trial court’s order of 2016 which acquitted the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and his wife P. Visalakshi and convicted them in the disproportionate assets case.